Letter to the Editor - Northern Territory Intervention

28/10/2008

Kicking off the next phase of the Northern Territory Intervention with a compromised process for participation by Aboriginal people, is a risky move on the part of the federal government.

The federal government must not compromise the right of aboriginal people to participate in the next phase of the Northern Territory Emergency Response.

Participation is a human right that must be embedded in the processes of policy development, service delivery and evaluation.

Participation is the key to reducing experiences of victimisation, empowering people and making them less vulnerable to the vagaries of decision-making that have characterised the government’s approach to the Intervention.

If we think of the Review process as the single most important vehicle for participation by aboriginal people, then the government is taking a big risk in ignoring the process and rejecting key recommendations. They risk the trust of aboriginal people and the wider community.

Active participation is inextricably linked to the enjoyment of other rights – in particular, it plays a role in expanding political freedoms, empowering people and producing locally owned responses. True participation will bring the sustainable changes that everyone is so desperate to achieve.

If a national Human Rights Charter was in place, similar to the Victorian Charter of Human Rights, then a whole range of human rights, including participation, would be protected as law.

Most importantly, a national Human Rights Charter would provide a thorough method to consider the possible impact of proposed legislation on human rights before the legislation was finalised.

Until then, the government must facilitate and honour the right to participation.

Dr Helen Szoke is the Chief Conciliator / Chief Executive Officer of the Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission.